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George Washington, Dublin, Ireland, 
(author of the accompanying sketch.) 
Born Nov. 2, i860. 












THE IRISH WASHINGTONS 

AT HOME AND ABROAD, 


TOGETHER WITH SOME MENTION OF THE 

ANCESTRY OF THE AMERICAN PATER PATRIJ1. 


BY 

1 ■, / 

GEORGE WASHINGTON, 

of Dublin, Ireland, 


THOMAS HAMILTON MURRAY, 

Boston, Mass. 



BOSTON : 

THE CARROLLTON PRESS, 
1898. 




75429 


Copyright, 1898, 

By THOMAS HAMILTON MURRAY. 


All rights reserved. 









DEDICATED 


AMERICAN-IRISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 












TRIBUTE TO THE PATER PATRI/E. 


HOW HIS DEEDS HAVE RENDERED THE WASHINGTON 
NAME GLORIOUS FOR ALL TIME. — WASHINGTONS 
IN IRELAND FOR TWO OR THREE CENTURIES.— 
INTERESTING DATA. 


BY THOMAS HAMILTON MURRAY. 


The name Washington is dear to the heart of every 
patriotic American. While the republic endures, this will 
never be otherwise. The life and works of the Pater 
Patrice are secure in the temple of liberty. His name and 
fame serve as beacon lights for the oppressed in every 
land, and illumine the path to freedom. 

It is a fact not generally known that Washington, as a 
family name, has long existed in Ireland. It is mentioned 
in the records of many counties, and bearers of the name 
are still frequently met. These Irish Washingtons have 
produced many people of ability, and in creed are nearly 
all Roman Catholics. 

The first Washingtons in Ireland are believed to have 
gone there from England between two hundred and fifty 
and three hundred years ago, perhaps earlier. Their 
descendants became thoroughly Irish and have been allied 
in marriage with the Fords, Cronins, Kellys, Hogans, 
MacCormacks, MacNamaras, Mahons, Sullivans, Fitz¬ 
geralds, and other historic Irish families. The Irish 
Washingtons, too, have been identified with leading move¬ 
ments in behalf of Irish freedom. One of them was con¬ 
nected with the patriotic Fenian organization, while the 

5 




6 


name has also figured in the work of the Land League and 
in that of its successor, the Irish National League. 

Knowing the interest this whole topic would have for 
the American people, I resolved some time ago to collect 
as much material as possible bearing on the subject, and 
to present the result in the present modest form. I am 
indebted for assistance in my researches to the Most Rev. 
John Clancy, D. D., bishop of the Irish diocese of Elphin ; 
to the Rev. John Maher, P. P., of Kilglass and Russky, in 
Bishop Clancy’s diocese, and to Mr. John O’Hart, the 
eminent Irish genealogist of Clontarf, Ireland. 

Mr. O’Hart referred me to Mr. George Washington, of 
Dublin, from whom I obtained many facts of great interest 
and importance. Mr. George W. Washington, of Mel¬ 
bourne, Australia, has also given me much data, and I am 
likewise indebted for interesting facts to Miss Julia M. 
MacNamara, now of Manchester, N. H. Miss MacNamara, 
it should be stated, is a daughter of Nicholas J. and Mar¬ 
garet (Washington) MacNamara. For facts regarding Irish 
Washingtons who settled in the United States, I am under 
obligations to Washingtons now residing in Providence, 
R. I., and elsewhere. 

The accompanying chapter by Mr. George Washington, 
of Dublin, is a mine of information. Mr. Washington is a 
gentleman of quiet and scholarly tastes, and is naturally 
averse to publicity. However, at my earnest request, 
seconded by that of my friend, Mr. O’Hart, he was finally 
prevailed upon to overcome his reluctance, and to furnish 
the accompanying extremely interesting sketch. He was 
induced to do this, chiefly, upon the bona fide representa¬ 
tion that whatever he wrote on the subject would prove of 
great interest to the people of the United States. That it 
is certain to so prove, no American will dispute. 

In the Evening Herald, one of the leading papers of the 


7 


Irish capital, a communication appeared May 31, 1892, 
headed “ The Romance of History.” It was signed “ Sul- 
grave,” and the following is gleaned therefrom : — 
******** 

“ Few, reading your most interesting account in Satur¬ 
day’s issue of the finding and publishing of the Verney 
letters, know what an influence that young gentleman, who 
mourned so pathetically the death of his wife, exercised, 
indirectly, in altering and shaping the destinies of the 
world for all future time. Certainly he had no idea of it 
himself. 

“ Had he been sent to Cambridge University instead of 
to Oxford; had he been a roysterer instead of the sweet, 
engaging young man that he was ; had anything about him 
been different, he never would have brought frequently 
with him to his house at Middle Claydon the Rev. Law¬ 
rence Washington, M. A., who never would have seen there 
the bailiff’s pretty daughter, and never married her ; and 
never would their children have been driven away, boy¬ 
cotted and poor, from the shores where their relatives held 
rank, wealth, and influence, to seek a home in the Western 
world, which was one day to owe so much to their illustrious 
descendant. 

“How that harsh treatment entered the souls of the emi¬ 
grants is indicated by the fact that they never told their 
children from what family or from what part of England 
they came. The subject was tabooed or referred to unwill¬ 
ingly, so that even General Washington, who was born 
within seventy-five years of their landing in America, died 
in the vague belief that his ancestors came from Yorkshire, 
Lancashire or some still more northerly county. 

“‘In the beginning of 1655,’ says Moncure D. Conway, 
‘ John Washington [the emigrant] found himself with £ 28 
left him by his stepfather, and his share of what his mother 


8 


Amphillis had saved from the £60 left her, and the fifth of 
her Purleigh tithes received during the four preceding 
years.’ For the next four years nothing whatever is 
known of his movements ; but it is certain from his will 
that he married, and brought his wife, two children, and 
his surviving sister, Martha, to Virginia with him in 1659. 

‘ But,’ says Conway, ‘ he might not have come had not cer¬ 
tain fine Sir and Lady Washingtons turned up their noses 
at the impecunious son of a bailiff’s daughter.’ 

“ Sir Edmund Verney . . . was standard bearer to 
Charles I. I saw a portrait of him about two months ago, 
as he appeared before Edge Hill, where he was doomed to 
fall (1642). His third son, Sir Edmund, commanded a 
troop of horse at Drogheda, where he fell beneath the 
swords of Cromwell’s Ironsides. The family had large 
estates in Breffni at this time, and not long after one of 
them was raised to the peerage as Baron Belturbet and 
Viscount Fermanagh. The writer is acquainted with one 
family of Washingtons, which was resident in this district 
one hundred and fifty years ago, amongst whom it has always 
been a tradition that their ancestor came from Brington in 
Northamptonshire. 

“ Sir William Washington had two sons and a daughter, 
Elizabeth, who married Major William Legge [an Irish¬ 
man], Henry, the elder, became a colonel, and was much 
distinguished during the civil war. In conjunction with 
Colonel Mark Trevor and Colonel Francis Trafford, ‘a 
professed Papist,’ he is found in Denbighshire, where he 
had influence, raising a force for the king, which was after¬ 
wards utilized at Marston Moor, where Mark Trevor cov¬ 
ered himself with glory by wounding Oliver Cromwell, for 
which, at the Restoration, he was made Baron Rostrevor, 
in the County Down [Ireland], and Viscount Dungannon. 
Near the latter place [in Ireland], I am informed, is the 


9 


hamlet of Washington, possibly called after his old com¬ 
panion-in-arms, and a family of the name is, to this day, 
living within a few miles of Rostrevor. 

“ Walter and George Washington, of Warwick, England, 
lost their lives and property in the Royal cause, and I have 
reason to believe that their descendants are to be found at 
present in a remote part of Galway, Ireland. There are 
Washington families in Roscommon, and your readers may 
be interested to know that the writer became aware of 
their existence through their names appearing in the depu¬ 
tation from their district to meet Mr. Parnell in Strokes- 
town during his final campaign. I am informed that they 
claim to have migrated John Washington, the ancestor of 
the President, to America, and it has been claimed for them 
by at least one writer in the United States. It may not 
be so preposterous after all, as for four years before emi¬ 
grating no trace whatever can be found of John in Eng¬ 
land, so that the general may have been half Irish by 
descent, which would, indeed, be curious.” 

[There is also a theory, but with how much basis of fact 
has not yet been determined, that this John Washington 
left England and resided in Ireland, perhaps with relatives ; 
that he married in Ireland, and that he may have had 
children born there.] 

“ Of the Yorkshire family, from which the President 
thought himself descended, I have collected many interest¬ 
ing remains. Though there is no established connection 
between them and Northampton, their crests and seals are 
very similar, and their similarity in suffering for the Royal 
cause is beyond question. Of the two families I believe 
Yorkshire has suffered most. In fact the civil war prac¬ 
tically rooted out that family in England, and those left 
never recovered their stations. There is not at present 
one Washington left in Northamptonshire, nor one county 


IO 


family of the name, and in the new Doomsday Book, pub¬ 
lished in 1875, the name only appears, I think, fifteen 
times. Those of the Washingtons who immigrated to Ire¬ 
land easily fell in with the people, and the Reformation 
having been so recent it is not surprising that in a differ¬ 
ent atmosphere from England they speedily embraced the 
old faith.” 

“ Sulgrave ” expresses his belief that some of the Gal¬ 
way Washingtons are descended from Walter and George 
Washington, of Warwick. It is a curious fact that some 
of the Irish Washingtons now in the State of Rhode 
Island are of Galway blood. Mr. Michael Washington, 
for instance, came from County Galway fifty or sixty years 
ago and located in Providence, R. I., where many of his 
descendants still reside. In the old country he had 
wedded Catherine Ford. Their children were Edward, 
Bridget, Julia, Patrick, and Michael. 

I find there are two villages in Ireland called Washing¬ 
ton. One of these is in the County Tyrone, near Dun¬ 
gannon, and the other in the County Kildare. Good 
evidence this of the prominence of the name at one time 
in Irish affairs. During my researches in the United 
States, I have found Irish Washingtons or their descend¬ 
ants in Bangor, Me. ; Manchester, N. H. ; Fall River, 
Mass.; Newport, Providence, and Pawtucket, R. I. ; St. 
Paul, Minn. ; Nashville, Tenn. ; McKeesport, Pa., and in 
the States of New York, Colorado, and Montana. 

A pathetic occurrence in the history of the Irish Wash¬ 
ingtons in the Old Land was the death of little Anne 
Washington caused by British soldiers in the Rebellion of 
l 7 9& The child was but seven or eight years of age, and 
was stopping with her grandparents in the County Wick¬ 
low. One day the house was surrounded by a British 


II 


force, with the result that the little girl was shot and 
killed. Many other notable incidents might be narrated, 
but they can better be told by Mr. George Washington, 
whose valued contribution here follows. 

Boston, Mass., Oct. 19, 1898. 

Anniversary of the surrender of Lord Cornwallis 
to Gen. George Washington at Yorktown. 








Henry William Washington, 

Sometimes called “ The General.” 

Born in Cavan, Ireland. Deceased. 






SOME IRISH WASHINGTONS. 


AN ENTERTAINING MONOGRAPH ON THEIR DERIVATION 
AND CAREER. — REFERENCE TO THE AMERICAN 
PRESIDENT AND HIS ANCESTRY. — EXTRACTS 
FROM THE RECORDS. 


BY GEORGE WASHINGTON. 


The widespread interest taken by the American public 
in everything pertaining to the name of Washington must 
be, mainly, my justification for this article. I have, also, 
a hope that its publication may lead to further light being 
thrown on the circumstances of the settlement of the 
Washingtons in Ireland, and a desire to place on record, 
in some permanent form, the few facts I have been able to 
gather regarding the Irish Washingtons, so that those who 
come after us may know a little of the people from whom 
they are descended. 

The family takes its name from the village of Washing¬ 
ton, in the County Durham, England. In the year 1166, 
according to the Bolden Buke , William de Hertburn, the 
founder of the family, exchanged his village and manor of 
Hertburn on the river Tees for the village and manor of 
Wessyngton. He thenceforward assumed the name of 
de Wessyngton, and for two hundred years his descendants 
who held their lands in knights’ fee from the Bishop of 
Durham, sat in the councils of the palatinate. 

By 1400 this family was extinct in the male line, but in 
the neighboring counties of Westmoreland and Lancaster 
two branches had sprung up whose descendants are trace- 

13 




H 


able to the present day. In 1300 the Westmoreland 
branch were lords of Milburne, and Walter de Wessyng- 
ton held the lands of Helton and Fletham. For two hun¬ 
dred years afterwards the chief seat of the family appears 
to have been at Hallad Hall, Westmoreland. 

Towards the middle of the sixteenth century Richard 
Washington, of Hallad Hall, settled at Adwick le Street, 
in Yorkshire, and founded the Yorkshire branch. His 
grandsons, William and Richard, came to Ireland and 
founded a branch here. His great grandson Robert, “a 
merchant in Holland,” emigrated to the Continent and 
founded the family of Count von Washington, of Munich. 
The race flourished in Yorkshire as late as the middle of 
the last century, perhaps later. 

The Lancanshire branch was descended from Robert de 
Wessyngton, Lord of Milburne, who had lands in Kerne- 
ford (Carnforth), County Lancaster, in right of his wife 
Amicia, daughter of Hugh, Lord de Kerneford. He had a 
son Robert, who had a son John of Warton in Lonsdale, 
living 1386, who had a son John, living 1403, who had a 
son John, wounded at Agincourt, Oct. 25, 1415, who had 
Robert of Tuwhitfield, who died 1483, who had Robert of 
Tuwhitfield, who had 

John of Tuwhitfield, son and heir, who married Margaret, 
daughter of Robert Kitson, of Warton, and sister of Sir 
Thomas Kitson, of Hengrave Hall, Suffolk, Alderman of 
the city of London, — Sheriff, 1533, — commonly called 
“ Kitson the Merchant.” John Washington went to Lon¬ 
don and became a prosperous wool merchant. He had 

Lawrence of Gray’s Inn, Mayor of Northampton, 1532 
and 1545. Had a grant of the manor of Sulgrave, County 
Northampton, 1539, and died July 19, 1584. His second 
son, Sir Lawrence, of Wedbury, Bucks, and Garsden, Wilts, 
entered Gray’s Inn, 1571 ; called to the bar, 1582; ap- 


!5 


pointed Registrar to the Court of Chancery, 1593 ; M. P. 
for Maidstone, 1603; d. 1619; founded the family of 
Washington of Garsden, Wilts. The Mayor’s eldest son 
was 

Robert of Sulgrave, who, in conjunction with his eldest 
son, Lawrence, sold Sulgrave in 1610 to his nephew, 
Lawrence Makepeace. His second son, Walter, founded 
the Warwickshire family. Lawrence, the eldest son of 
Robert, now moved to Brington in 1610. He had seven¬ 
teen children. His fifth son, Lawrence, of Brasenose Col¬ 
lege, Oxford, rector of Purleigh, 1633-1643, was father of 
John, the emigrant to Virginia, who was great grand-father 
of General Washington. 

The last of the Warton family, a clergyman, died about 
the middle of the present century. The Kent family are 
of Lancashire stock. 

******** 

Until quite recently I was under the impression that 
my own immediate family was the only Washington one 
in Ireland, but my attention was called to the fact that 
three men of the name were on the platform with Mr. 
Parnell at his last meeting in Strokestown, County 
Roscommon. 

Through a friend I afterwards got a list of the births 
and deaths of Washingtons in Ireland for many years past, 
thus locating the different branches. Practically there 
are only five : one at Bryansford, County Down ; a second 
in Kilglass parish, County Roscommon ; a third at New 
Ross, County Wexford; another near Carlow, and my 
own in Dublin. There was another at Kilbeacanty, near 
Gort, County Galway, but a correspondent informs me 
they have left there and probably emigrated. No one 
family, I believe, knew of the other’s existence, and each 
thought it was the only bearer of the name in the country. 
They are all Roman Catholics and mostly farmers. 


i6 


The Bryansford family can only trace back about seventy 
years, and are probably an offshoot from some of the other 
branches. The present tenant’s grandmother, a widow, 
settled in that place with her two very young children, a boy 
and a girl, about the year 1830. They had previously 
lived in Dundalk, County Louth, a town principally on the 
estate of the Earl of Roden. The names in use amongst 
them are James, Joseph, Sarah. 

The Western Irish branch has a longer record, and dozens 
of this family are at present in England and the United 
States, so that what I have to say must be deeply inter¬ 
esting to them. Mr. Dudley Washington, of Kilgarrow, 
Kilglass, County Roscommon, writes that he is seventy 
years old and remembers his grandfather, who was over 
eighty years when he himself was young. His people, he 
believed, had lived in the neighborhood for three hundred 
years past, having come there, he had heard, after some 
great disturbance in England. His ancestors had been 
Protestants. 

I had frequently seen in Mr. O’Hart’s Irish Pedigrees , 
that a Capt. Henry Washington was amongst the Royalist 
officers serving in Ireland between 1641-9, called the 
“ ’49 officers ”; and knowing that at the Restoration all 
arrears of pay were settled by grants of forfeited lands, I 
determined to see where his grant lay, and through the 
kindness of the Deputy Keeper of the Records of Ireland, 
J. J. Digges Latouche, Esq., A.M., LL.D., who generously 
allowed me to examine all documents, I located him. 

He was in the thirty-third batch of officers dealt with. 
His claim was for £374, gs. 2d., and he appears in con¬ 
junction with John Griffith, £463, 9^., and Lieut. Daniel 
Moore, .£104, 10^., to have disposed of his interest to a 
Sir Martin Noell, of Chancery Lane, London, almost next 
door to Laurence Washington, the Chancery Registrar. 


George Thomas Washington, 

Son of Henry William Washington, “ The General,’ 
Born Feb. n, 1847. 















17 


The collective grant consisted of lands in the barony of 
Moydow, County Longford, including the townlands of 
Ballintober, Tonemeranagh, Cartron, Koole, Keyley, Sha- 
naghmore, Ballyboyy, Loughseiden, Carrick Edmond ? 
Lislea, Loughuagh, etc., in all 2767 a. 1 r. 24 per., at the 
yearly rent of £34, ns. 10^., together with ,£1,000 out of 
the houses and lands sold, or about to be sold, in the city 
of Limerick, said sums to be paid by Wentworth, Earl of 
Roscommon, a nephew of the Earl of Strafford, and Roger, 
Earl of Ossory. Grant dated 18 Chas. II. (1667). 

Wentworth, Earl of Roscommon, was the son of James 
Dillon, the intimate friend of the Verneys of Middle 
Claydon. James must have well known the rector of Pur- 
leigh, General Washington’s ancestor, who visited at 
Claydon, since he courted the rector’s cousin Doll Leake, 
who lived there, and gave great offence to the Verneys by 
jilting her and marrying Sir Thomas Wentworth’s sister. 

Now a strange thing about the grant is, that some of 
these lands, though in Longford, are in the parish of Kil- 
glass, and it is in the parish of Kilglass, barony of Ballin¬ 
tober, County Roscommon, just across the border, these 
Washingtons have resided for more than two centuries. 
The Christian names in use amongst them are: George, 
Francis, James, William, Edward, Thomas, Michael, John, 
Patrick, Catherine, Elizabeth, Bridget, Mary, Anne, Jane, 
Emilia. 

I next found a charter signed by King Charles I. and 
Sir Thomas Wentworth, granting to William Washington 
the office of customer or chief tax collector of the port of 
Limerick. It is dated 1636, the same year, I see, that the 
first Washington turned up in Virginia, and I believe a 
member of the same family. 

This William, who thus came to Ireland under the 
patronage of Sir Thomas Wentworth, the Lord Deputy, 


18 


was no doubt from Yorkshire, for on turning to the Visi¬ 
tation of York, 1666 (Dugdale), I find a William of that 
time described as having lived in Ireland and left descen¬ 
dants there, and I suppose some of the Irish Washingtons 
owe their origin to him. His eldest brother, Darcy, had 
married Anne, daughter of Matthew Wentworth, of Bret- 
ton, a relative of the Lord Deputy, and I have no doubt it 
was this connection that brought him to Ireland. 

In the year 1640 a Richard Washington, B. D., turns 
up in Dublin as provost of Trinity College, and as the 
office was practically in the gift of the Lord Deputy, now 
created Earl of Strafford, I think we may fairly conclude 
that he was William’s younger brother, who in the pedigree 
is described as having died unmarried. He left the col¬ 
lege in the following year (1641) and returned to Oxford, 
having fallen, no doubt, with Strafford’s party. 

******** 

Moncure D. Conway, in an article in Harper’s for May, 
1891, mentions a Richard Washington, of University Col¬ 
lege Oxford (1646), as “ the only one of the old stock left.” 
He says, “ I have not placed this Royalist, apparently a 
clergyman. He died, 1651, and was buried at St. Dunstan’s 
in the West, London.” A recently published history of 
Trinity College identifies this man with the provost, the 
date and place of death being exactly the same in both 
cases. 

As some corroboration of his supposed Yorkshire origin, 
I quote the following from the Miscellanea Genealogica : 
“ Will of John Hovendon of University College, Oxford, 
dated Dec. 26, 1629. Proved by Thos. Radcliffe.” He 
appoints “my friend Thomas Radcliffe sole executor. 
My friend, Dr. Bancroft, master of University College, and 
Mr. Richard Washington, overseers,” and “ gives rings to 
Mr. Richard Washington and Mr. Philip Wentworth.” The 


19 


Wentworths and Radcliffes were closely connected, and Sir 
George Radcliffe, the Earl of Strafford’s secretary, has been 
described as his “ right hand.” This conjunction of names 
should go far, I think, to support my contention as to his 
identity, especially as it fits in exactly with the recorded 
pedigree. 

I will here state my belief that it would have been im¬ 
possible for this gentleman not to have known the rector 
of Purleigh, General Washington’s ancestor. They were, 
no doubt, friends, and could probably trace the relationship 
existing between them, the separation of the branches not 
having been so very remote. They must have had many 
friends in common, and I cannot but think that when visit¬ 
ing their relatives at Oxford, other members of both families 
must have become acquainted. Thus the two great 
branches of the family were personally known to one 
another at that time. Now, the Earl of Strafford’s aunt 
(his mother’s sister) was Lady Jocelyn, whose lineal 
descendant to-day is the Earl of Roden, on whose estate* 
in the County Down, Ireland, Mr. Washington, of Bryans- 
ford, is a tenant. 

In 1636, while William Washington was “Customer” of 
Limerick, George Staunton was “ Searcher ” of Galway. 
He was of a Warwickshire family, who had formed con¬ 
nections by marriage with the Washingtons of the same 
county. His descendants have continued to live in the 
county of Galway, and one of them became the famous 
ambassador to China. Towards the middle of the last 
century, a Miss Catherine Staunton, of the Stauntons who 
were connected with the Warwickshire Washingtons, an 
heiress, married a Mr. Lambert and brought him an estate, 
and, strange to say, it was a Mr. Lambert, a descendant of 
this man, who, till lately, was the landlord of the Gort 
family of Irish Washingtons, recently emigrated. Whether 
these are merely coincidences I cannot say. 


20 


I next came on the will of Laurence Washington, of 
Garsden, Wilts (1667), and a bond for ^500 lent by him 
to Henry Moore, a relative, whose descendant to-day is 
known as the Marquis of Drogheda, secured by valuable 
rents and tolls in the County Westmeath, which was subse¬ 
quently redeemed. The daughter of this Laurence mar¬ 
ried Robert Shirley, who had large estates in the County 
Monaghan, and her son, Washington Shirley, sat in the 
Irish Parliament, dissolved in 1714, and eventually became 
Earl Ferrers. The Legges, the Villiers, the Spencers, 
the Verneys and other relatives held vast estates here. 
Thus the Northampton Washingtons had a direct and 
substantial connection with Ireland. 

My next find was the will of James Washington, Gent., 
of the city of Kilkenny, a wealthy man, who had a brother 
Richard and a nephew James. He evidently had no son, 
but daughters, Mary and Anne, unmarried ; Sarah (Hamil¬ 
ton), a widow, and Margaret, wife of John Lightburne, of the 
town of Wexford, merchant; and a sister, Catherine Grace. 

Besides houses and lands in and around the city of Kil¬ 
kenny he had “a house and premises in the town of 
Wexford, held on lease for a long term of years.” I am 
inclined to think that the New Ross, County Wexford, 
Irish Washingtons, and one or two individuals still living 
in the County Kilkenny, are descended from this Richard, 
but of course this is conjecture. Will dated Nov. 20, 
1760, proved 1761. A comparison of these Christian 
names with William of Limerick’s nephews and nieces, 
one hundred years before, would certainly suggest a 
Yorkshire origin for this family. Their names were 
James, Robert, Darcy, Anne, Grace, Mary, and Sarah. 
******** 

Of my own family I can speak more precisely. My 
great-grandfather was born in Northamptonshire in or 


about the year 1743. He came to Ireland from Wales 
about I77°- He always maintained that he was a relative 
of General Washington, and that the latter’s ancestors, like 
his own, were of the Northampton stock. They both came 
he said, of a family who once lived on Earl Spencer’s estate, 
and I have always heard this story without variation from 
the oldest members of the family I have ever met. One, 
I am sure, who never got her information from reading, 
even mentioned the place Brington to me, years before I 
ever heard a word about General Washington’s English 
origin. 

Not one of these old people, I suppose, ever heard of 
the controversy about the general’s extraction, but merely 
handed down the facts as a matter of tradition. There is 
a good deal of internal evidence in the family history, 
which I am sifting, to support their statements. And I 
am not without a hope that a mention of the family may 
be found amongst the genealogical papers of a late dis¬ 
tinguished scholar. I am also informed by one who knew 
him that my grand-uncle Henry so closely resembled the 
published portraits of General Washington, the American, 
that he was called “ The General,” and that his features 
were a good counterpart of General Washington’s, as 
they appear on the American postage stamps of'to-day. 
My aunt MacNamara, lately deceased, also bore the same 
extraordinary resemblance. 

My own pedigree, so far as it is connected with Ireland, 
is as follows : My great-grandfather, 

I. Thomas George Washington, was born in Northamptonshire, 
1743; died, 1838, aged ninety-five years; buried at Glasnevin, 
Dublin; married, 1789, Honoria Monks, of Wicklow, who was 
buried with him in 1848, aged seventy-eight. They had nine 
children, viz.: 

1. Thomas, of whom hereafter. 


22 


2. Henry, who settled in London; had issue: i, Henry (mar¬ 

ried ), who went to Australia; 2, George ( married ), now 
in London. 

3. Michael. 

4. George, who left George, Alice, and Henry. 

1. Mary Martha, who married James Ford, of Newtown Butler, 

County Fermanagh (later of Dublin). 

2. Margaret, died young. 

3. Catherine, died young. 

4. Bridget, married Patrick McCormack; no issue. 

5. Anne, killed by yeomen in the Rebellion of 1798. 

Mary Martha Washington, mentioned above, who married James 
Ford, of Fermanagh, became the mother of, 

1. Thomas George, who went to the United States in 

1850 and wedded Rosalie Redwood Anderson, of 
Newport, R. I. Her great grand-uncle, William El¬ 
lery, was one of the signers of the Declaration of 
Independence. A great-great-grandfather of hers, 
Baron von Weissenfels, of the Prussian army, served 
in the army of the Revolution, and was at one time a 
member of General Washington’s staff. 

2. James, died at sea. 

3. John, died unmarried. 

4. Henry, married Louisa Cronin, no issue. 

1. Ellen, wife of John Kelly; had issue: (1) James; (2) 

Ellen, wife of Henry Prossor, who has a daughter 
Norah. 

2. Mary, wife of Michael J. Hogan, died 1897; had issue: 

(1) Henry; (2) George; (3) James; (4) Mary E. 
The latter died in Paris, 1897. 

Thomas George Washington, the founder of the family, was suc¬ 
ceeded by his eldest son: 

II. Thomas, who married, 1821, Maria Cooke, and died in 1852; 
had issue: 

1. Thomas, who died 1839, aged eighteen years. 

2. George, professor of music under the Board of National 

Education, Ireland, died at Belfast, 1871, unmarried. 

3. James, of whom hereafter. 


23 


4 - Mary, a daughter of Thomas and Maria (Cooke) Washington, 
married, in New York, Anthony McAlister, and had issue : 

1. Mary Ellen, wife of Frank Hollywood, ex-Member of 

Congress from Montana, U. S.A., now of Victor, Col. 
No issue living. 

2. Anthony, commander steamship Naderi, Bombay and 

Persian Steam Navigation Company, married, 1891, 
Lizzie Colclough, of Belfast, Ireland, and has issue 
(two daughters), Ellen and Lizzie, and a son, George 
Washington. 

5. Margaret Washington, a daughter of Thomas and Maria 

(Cooke) Washington, married Nicholas J. MacNamara, 
solicitor of Galway. She died in 1891. They had issue : 

1. Andrew Washington MacNamara, now in New York. 

2. George Washington MacNamara, died, 1883. 

1. Julia M., now in Manchester, N. H. 

2. Cecilia Marie, in St. Paul, Minn. 

3. Margaret. 

4. Angelina, wife of George Leonard has two daughters, 

Constance and Aileen. 

5. Evelyn. 

6. Adelaide E. 

7. Clarinda M. 

6. Jane Washington, sister of Margaret (Washington) MacNa¬ 

mara, is the wife of a Mr. Connor, of Nashville, Tenn. 
The children are Roderick, Joseph, William, Mary and 
George. 

Thomas Washington, who succeeded his father, Thomas George 
Washington, the founder, as head of the Dublin family, was in turn 
succeeded by his third son, James. 

III. This James Washington was a professor of music under the 
Board of National Education, Ireland; born, 1831; died at 
Waterford, 1877 ; married, 1853, at Rathmines, Roman Cath¬ 
olic Church, to Ellen Mahon (who died, 1887). She was a 
daughter of James Mahon, of “ Dycer’s,” Stephen’s Green, 
Dublin (formerly of Kings County), and his wife, Mary 
Mahony, and sister of the late John C. Mahon, M. A., C. E., 
T. C. D., inspector under the Irish Board of Works. James 
Washington had issue : 


24 


1. George, died young. 

2. James, of whom hereafter. 

3. George, living 1898, unmarried, (the writer of this sketch). 

4. Albert, died young. 

5. Thomas, died 1895. 

6. John Joseph, died young. 

1. Mary, died young. 

2. Mary Ellen, living 1897. 

3. Margaret, died unmarried, 1883. 

4. Jane, living 1897. 

James (III) was succeeded by his eldest surviving son: 

IV. James (2), who was born in Dublin, 1859 > married, 1891, Ellen 
Fitzgerald, of Drumcannon House, Tramore, County Water¬ 
ford. He died 8th September, 1893, and left issue, a son 
James George Washington, born 30th August, 1893. 

I have recently come across an entry in the Hibernian 
Magazine , which records a marriage between William 
Hobbs, of the city of Waterford, and Anne Washington, of 
Kilkenny, September, 1779. I also found the will of 
Sarah (Washington) Hamilton, of Kilkenny, widow, her 
sister, in which she leaves to her nephew, Stafford Light- 
burne, house, messuage, and tenements in the town of Wex¬ 
ford ; to her brother-in-law, William Hobbs, of Waterford 
and Ballyharty, County Wexford, all her estate in the 
lands of Danningstown, Brickhays, part of Keatingstown, 
etc., etc., held on long lease from the Earl of Courtown. 

She mentions her sister, Mary Ward, otherwise Wash¬ 
ington, wife of Alexander Ward, Esq., nephew James 
Washington, son of Uncle Richard Washington, deceased, 
and niece Frances Ward. (William Hobbs and Anne 
Hobbs, executors, Dec. 10, 1791.) Mr. Griffith, clerk of 
the Thomastown (County Kilkenny) Union, informs me 
that he has always known of a Washington family living 
in that district, and that a Washington was hanged as a 
rebel on the bridge of New Ross, in historic 1798. 



James George Washington. 

Born Aug. 30, 1893. 

Son of James and Ellen (Fitzgerald) Washington, and nephew of 
George Washington, writer of the enclosed sketch. 





25 


A branch of the Irish Washingtons, relatives of ours, is 
now located at Manchester, England. The founder of it 
was George Washington, son of Thomas George and 
Honoria (Monks) Washington. The pedigree of this 
Manchester branch is as follows : — 

I. George Washington, married Alice Doxey. Their children were 

1. George, who wedded Mary Raby. 

2. Alice, married Wm. Baguley. 

3. Henry, deceased. 

II. George, who wedded Mary Raby, had 

1. Gertrude. 

2. Ethel. 

3. Alice. 

4. George, deceased. 

5. Harry. 

6. Martha, deceased. 

7. Mary, deceased. 

Alice, sister of George, who married Wm. Baguley, has issue : 

1. William. 

2. Richard. 

3. Alice. 

4. Lily. 

5. Amy. 

6. Mabel. 

7. Ruth. 

Of these Manchester Washingtons, George (II.) is an 
educator. He attended college in London, and upon leav¬ 
ing took charge of his present school where he has remained 
twenty-three years. He also has charge of the Technical 
School at Ramsbottom, Manchester, England, and of a 
pupil teachers’ centre class in a neighboring place. 

This practically exhausts all I have to say about the Irish 
Washingtons and I shall be very pleased if its publication 
elicits any new facts concerning them. 

Dalkey, County Dublin, Ireland, Sept. 15, 1898. 

To Mr. T. H. Murray, 

Secretary, Amkrican-Irish Historical Society, Boston, Mass. 


FURTHER INTERESTING DETAILS. 


LETTERS FROM VARIOUS BEARERS OF THE NAME —FACTS 
CONCERNING DESCENDANTS OF THE IRISH WASHINGTONS 
IN THE UNITED STATES AND AUSTRALIA. 


BY THOMAS HAMILTON MURRAY. 


In connection with this subject of the Irish Washing¬ 
tons, I have in my possession several interesting letters 
from Mr. George W. Washington of Melbourne, Austra¬ 
lia; Mr. Joseph Washington, of Bryansford, Ireland, and 
Mr. Dudley Washington, of Kilglass parish, County Ros¬ 
common. 

******** 

The Melbourne George is a cousin of George of Dublin, 
author of the foregoing chapter. In his letter dated “ The 
Rest, Vine St., Moonee Ponds, Melbourne,” the Australian 
gentleman informs me that his grandfather, Henry Wil¬ 
liam Washington, son of Thomas George and Honoria 
(Monks) Washington, was born in County Cavan, and left 
the paternal wing in Ireland at the age of seventeen, locat¬ 
ing in London. His son, Henry William Washington, born 
in London, father of George of Melbourne, settled in the 
Isle of Man about 1866, and became manager of the Manx 
Northern Railway. He married Miss Emily Isabella Kelly, 
of Ballaqueeny, Isle of Man, and subsequently emigrated 
to Australia, dying in 1891. Mrs. Washington, nee Kelly, 
is still living. The children are : 

1. Herbert Henry Washington, born June 4, 1869, in 
the Isle of Man ; now in the service of the National Bank 
of Australia (Melbourne). 


26 




27 


2. Walter Tom, born July 17, 1870, at Douglas, Isle of 
Man, is connected with the Union Bank of Australia; 
married Miss Alice Gillett, of Melbourne. 

3. George William, born Feb. 19, 1874, at Douglas, 
Isle of Man, is in the service of the Union Bank of 
Australia. 

4. John Lawrence, born June 27, 1882, at Douglas, 
Isle of Man; like the others, a resident of Melbourne. 

5. Amy Isabel, born Jan. 1, 1877, at Douglas, Isle of 
Man, has been awarded the diploma of the Musical Society 
of Victoria for piano and harmony. 

6. Florence Elizabeth, born June 16, 1878, is studying 
voice production under Signor Buzzi, the first Italian 
master of Australia. 

******** 

The letter in my possession from Mr. Joseph Washing¬ 
ton, Bryansford, Ireland, also deserves special mention. 
In it the writer says : “ My father, James Washington, 
came so young to this place that he could tell but little of 
his people. He had six children, three boys and three 
girls. Of these children, all have passed away except 
myself. With my family, I live on a farm on the estate of 
the Earl of Roden, within some three miles of a pleasant 
watering place, much frequented in summer. Some sea¬ 
sons ago, among the strangers visiting there was a family 
of Washingtons. Our religion is Roman Catholic. My 
eldest brother bore the name James, and my eldest sister 
was named Sarah. I have a son James Washington, so you 
see the family name is perpetuated.” 

Mr. Dudley Washington, writing from Kilgarrow, 
County Roscommon, says : “ There are probably over forty 
members of our family in America at present. My father, 
four brothers, two sisters, two sons and a daughter, are 
there, and each of them has a family. I have ten cousins 


28 


in America, each having a family. One of these cousins 
is named George Washington and he has several children. 
Years ago, before emigration took such a head, I have 
seen over one hundred of the name in this parish of Kil- 
glass.” 

******** 

It cannot be stated when the first Irish Washington 
came to the United States. Neither can it be said what 
part of Ireland he arrived from, nor where he settled on 
his arrival here. That many of the name have come at 
different periods to the great republic of the West has 
already been shown, however. Mr. Michael Washington, 
of Providence, R. I., already mentioned, is the earliest of 
whom the writer has trace. He immigrated from County 
Galway some fifty or sixty years ago, locating, as has been 
stated, in Providence. After he had sufficiently arranged 
matters, he sent to Ireland for his wife, Catherine (Ford), 
and three of the children. Two children remained in the 
old country, but came over later. They were Patrick and 
Bridget. Michael Washington, the father, was a sturdy, 
industrious man, of that magnificent Irish type which has 
done so much to build, defend, and perpetuate the republic. 
He found on his arrival in Providence large numbers of his 
countrymen, — strong-limbed, stout-hearted, whole-souled ; 
men who were ardently patriotic, true to the New Land, 
but not forgetting the Old. The children of Michael and 
Catherine (Ford) Washington were : 

(i) Ned, who is deceased. (2) Bridget, who married 
Thomas Norton; she is a widow, residing in Providence. 
(3) Julia, who married Roderick Hunt; she also is a 
widow, living in Providence. (4) Patrick, who lives in 
Providence. (5) Michael, who wedded Mary Sherry ; she 
is dead; he resides in Providence. Three sons of 
Michael and Mary (Sherry) Washington are living, one 


29 

of them in Fall River, Mass., and the two others in Provi¬ 
dence, R. I. 

Patrick Washington, son of Michael, the immigrant, was 
one of the children who remained in Ireland, but subse¬ 
quently came out. He wedded Bridget Sullivan in Provi¬ 
dence, R. I., over thirty years ago, the ceremony being 
performed in that city by Rev. Father Kelly, of St. Joseph’s 
Catholic Church. The family resides at 293 Pearl Street, 
Providence. The children are: (1) Edward Henry, a 
jeweler by trade, but now a member of the Providence 
Fire Department. (2) Frank, who is a piano tuner. (3) 
Joseph, in the provision business. (4) George Augustine, 
a music teacher. (5) Mary, who is at home. 

* * * * * * , * * 

There is another Washington family in Providence, R. I., 
of Irish origin. It is represented by Joseph, a son of 
John and Mary Washington. John and Mary were of 
County Galway, their children being: (1) Bridget, who 
wedded Michael Whalen and still lives in Galway. (2) 
Mary, who is dead, married Michael Feeney, Central Falls, 
R. I., the ceremony being performed by Rev. Father Halli- 
gan, of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Pawtucket, R. I. ; had 
three children : Mary Jane, George Arthur, and Katie. (3) 
Ellen, dead ; (4) Kate, dead ; (5) Joseph (above mentioned); 
(6) John, in Australia; (7) Edward. 

Of the foregoing children, Joseph (5) wedded Margaret 
Myer, of Lawrence, Mass. She was born in England, of 
Irish parents. The children are: (1) Edward; (2) Chris¬ 
topher ; (3) William Joseph, deceased. 

William Washington, related to this second Providence 
family, married twice, and was lately residing in McKees¬ 
port, Penn. He was a soldier in the American Civil War. 
The children are: (1) John; (2) Joseph; (3) Lizzie; (4) 
Gertie. 




30 


James Washington, a brother of William, is dead. He 
also resided in McKeesport. His children were : (i) John ; 
(2) Edward ; (3) Frank; (4) Raymond. 

Michael Washington, a brother of William and James, 
resided in the State of Ohio, but is dead. Another brother, 
Patrick, served in the Civil War. 

Kate Washington, likewise of this family, married a 
Connolley, or Conley, in Providence, R. I. She is dead. 

Another Irish Washington has been heard of in Bangor, 
Maine. His name was Thomas ; he died in Bangor a few 
years ago. He is mentioned as having been a member of 
the Ancient Order of Hibernians, and is thought to have 
been from Galway. 

A Julia Washington, Irish, is heard from in Lowell or 
Lawrence, Mass. She married there, but her husband’s 
name I do not now recall. 

******* * 

Mr. George Washington, of Dublin, co-author with me 
of the present little work, was born in Rathmines, Dublin, 
Nov. 2, i860. When a few months old his family moved 
to Waterford where his father had received an appoint¬ 
ment under the board of education. There George grew 
up. In 1877 his father died. George went through the 
Training College in Dublin with the intention of becoming 
a teacher. He taught a large school in County Galway 
for a year, but it being uncongenial work he relinquished 
it and embarked in business in Dublin. After spending 
nine years at the tea and wine trade with a leading house 
there, he was induced to accept a position with the largest 
wholesale tea and wine firm in Ireland (a Dublin house), 
and remained with it about five years. His ability as a 
man of business being widely recognized, he was next 
offered, and accepted, a position with the Phoenix porter 
brewery of Dublin, which he has represented for several 



George Washington, Belfast, Ireland. 

Died 1871, aged 47 years; was an ardent Nationalist and is believed to have 
been connected with the Fenian organization. 




































3i 


years. Of the immediate family of Irish Washingtons to 
which this George belongs there remain now but his sis¬ 
ters, Mary and Jane, his brother James’ widow, and her 
child, “ Jim,” and himself. Mr. Washington, who is un¬ 
married, is a highly educated gentleman and takes great 
interest in genealogical pursuits. 


THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT. 


LETTERS OF GEN. GEORGE WASHINGTON TO IRISH ORGANI¬ 
ZATIONS.—HE AUTHORIZES THE COUNTERSIGN “ST. 
PATRICK” ON THE SURRENDER OF BOSTON BY 
THE BRITISH. 


BY THOMAS HAMILTON MURRAY. 


It is not my purpose at present to investigate the claim 
sometimes put forth, that Mary Ball, Gen. Washington’s 
mother, was of Irish descent. I have seen a statement to 
the effect that she was of the Balls of Dublin, members of 
which family may have emigrated to England. Neither 
shall I now take up the conjecture that John Washington, 
the immigrant ancestor of the American president, spent 
some years in Ireland, and married there, before coming 
to America. These are matters for special treatment at 
some future time. The ancestry of Jane Butler, mother 
of Lawrence Washington, who was half brother to Gen. 
George, may also be included under this head, as a subject 
for future investigation. 

I merely wish to show at this time the cordial relations 
that existed between General Washington and those of 
his countrymen who were of Irish blood. It is an estab¬ 
lished fact, which no amount of sophistry can shake, that 
a very large part of the rank and file of the patriot army 
of the Revolution was of Irish birth or descent. Several 
of the more prominent generals were of this blood, while 
the number of regimental commanders, minor officers and 
privates ran well up into the thousands. The Irish ele- 

32 




33 


ment was also handsomely represented in the navy of the 
young republic. At one time during the war, twenty- 
seven members of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, Phil¬ 
adelphia, subscribed ^103,500 in aid of the patriot cause. 
******** 

Upon the evacuation of Boston by the British, March 
17, 1776, the Americans marched in and took possession. 
The siege had lasted several months. The countersign 
authorized by Washington for that day of triumph was 
“St. Patrick,” and the brigadier of the day was Gen. 
John Sullivan. At a meeting in Philadelphia, Dec. 17, 
1781, of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, already men 
tioned, Washington was made an “adopted Irishman,” so 
to speak, by being admitted to membership. A few days 
later, upon being presented with an address, and the insignia 
or medal of the organization, he made the following 
reply : — 

Sir : 

I accept with singular pleasure, the Ensign of so worthy 
a Fraternity as that of the Sons of St. Patrick in this city. 
— a Society distinguished for the firm Adherence of its 
Members to the glorious cause in which we are embarked. 

Give me leave to assure you, Sir, that I shall never cast 
my eyes upon the badge with which I am Honoured, but 
with a grateful remembrance of the polite and affectionate 
manner in which it was presented. 

I am, with Respect and Esteem, Sir, 

Your mo. ob. Servant, 

George Washington. 

To George Campbell, Esq., President of the Society of the Friendly Sons 
of St. Patrick, in the city of Philadelphia. 

******** 

Washington dined with the Friendly Sons on at least 
three occasions, viz.: Jan. 1, 1782, March 18, 1782, and 
June 18, 1787. A party of Irish gentlemen, most of them 


34 


belonging to the Irish Volunteers, arrived in New York 
from Ireland in November, 1783, and addressed congratu¬ 
lations to Washington on the successful termination of the 
American Revolution. To this address Washington thus 
replied: — 

To the Members of the Volunteer Association and other 
inhabitants of the Kingdom of Ireland who have lately 
arrived in the city of New York : — 

Gentlemen : The testimony of your satisfaction at 
the glorious termination of the late contest, and your in¬ 
dulgent opinion of my agency in it, afford me singular 
pleasure and merit my warmest acknowledgment. If the 
example of the Americans, successfully contended in the 
cause of freedom, can be of any use to other nations, we 
shall have an additional motive for rejoicing at so prosper¬ 
ous an event. 

It was not an uninteresting consideration to learn that 
the Kingdom of Ireland, by a bold and manly conduct, had 
obtained the redress of many of its grievances; and it is 
much to be wished that the blessings of equal liberty and 
unrestrained commerce may yet prevail more extensively. 
In the meantime, you may be assured, gentlemen, that the 
hospitality and beneficence of your countrymen to our 
brethren, who have been prisoners of war, are neither un¬ 
known nor unregarded. 

The bosom of America is open to receive not only the 
opulent and respectable stranger, but the oppressed and 
persecuted of all nations and religions, whom we shall 
welcome to a participation in all our rights and privileges, 
if by decency and propriety of conduct they appear to 
merit the enjoyment. 

George Washington. 

******** 

Various organizations in Ireland also sent congratula¬ 
tions. One of these bodies was the Yankee Club, of 
Stewartstown, Tyrone. Washington, replying to its good 


35 


wishes, Jan. 20, 1784, and writing from Mount Vernon, 
said : — 

Gentlemen : It is with unfeigned satisfaction that I 
accept your congratulation on the late happy and glorious 
revolution. ... If, in the course of our successful contest, 
good consequences have resulted to the oppressed King¬ 
dom of Ireland, it will afford a new source of felicitation to 
all who respect the interests of humanity. 

* * * * * * * * 

General Washington’s esteem for the people of Ireland 
and for the Irish in his command is further illustrated by 
the order issued by him for the observance of St. Patrick’s 
day, 1780. 

In the St. Louis Republican , October, 1887, appears the 
following : — 

Quite an interesting and curious old manuscript relating 
to the time of the American Revolution has been discov¬ 
ered by one of our reporters. It is in the possession of a 
resident of St. Louis. It is no less then the original “ mili¬ 
tary orders of the day ” issued to the “ Main Guard and 
Morristown Picket” from February 15 to April 7, 1780, 
while the American army, under Gen. Washington, was 
stationed at Morristown, N. J. 

Though musty with age, and on that account in some 
places almost illegible, the manuscript as a whole is as 
clear as on the days it was written, and presents a photo¬ 
graph of the interior workings of that famous little Ameri¬ 
can army, its morale, its soldierly discipline, the character 
of the common soldiers, the manner in which they were 
provided for, the kind of arms with which they were 
equipped, and of other incidents, as even the very pastimes 
and amusements allowed the soldiers — such as perhaps 
no historian of that period has ever presented to the world. 
At present only two extracts from the manuscript are given, 
and they are selected for the purpose of showing how this 
nation, in the throes of its birth, as heartily as it does now 
in the plenitude of its might and power, sympathized with 
the Irish people: — 


3 ^ 


“Headquarters, March 16, 1780. 

Officers for duty to-morrow : Brig-Gen. Clinton, Maj. 
Edwards, Brig.-Maj. Brice. The General [Washington] 
congratulates the army on the very interesting pro¬ 
ceedings of the parliament of Ireland and of the in¬ 
habitants of the country, which have been lately com¬ 
municated. Not only do they appear calculated to remove 
the heavy and tyrannical oppressions on their trade, but 
to restore to a brave and generous people their ancient 
rights and privileges, and in their operation to promote the 
cause of America. Desirous of impressing on the mind 
of the army transactions so important in their nature, the 
General directs that all fatigue and working parties cease 
for to-morrow, the 17th, [a] day held in particular regard 
by the people of that nation. At the same time that he 
orders this as a mark of pleasure he feels in the situ¬ 
ation, he persuades himself that the celebration of the day 
will not be attended by the least rioting or disorder. The 
officers to be at their quarters in camp, and the troops of 
each State are to be in their own encampment. 

Division orders : Captain of the day to-morrow, briga¬ 
dier-major from the Second Pennsylvania brigade. 

Brigade orders : Captain of the day [name illegible]. 

Adjutant of the day to-morrow, Herbert- 

Following is another extract : — 

“ Division Orders, March 17,1780. —The commanding 
officer desires that the celebration of the day should not 
pass by without having a little rum issued to the troops, 
and has thought proper to direct the commissary to send 
for the hogshead which the colonel has purchased already 
in the vicinity of the camp. While the troops are cele¬ 
brating the bravery of St. Patrick in innocent mirth and 
pastime, he hopes they will not forget their worthy friends 
in the kingdom of Ireland, who, with the greatest unanim¬ 
ity, have stepped forward in opposition to the tyrant Great 
Britain, and who, like us, are determined to die or be free. 
The troops will conduct themselves with the greatest 
sobriety and good order.” 



Miss Evelyn MacNamara, 

Daughter of Nicholas J. MacNamara, Galway, Ireland, 
and of Margaret Washington, his wife. 



















37 


The manuscript, continues the Republican, from which 
the above extracts are taken, bears internal evidence of its 
genuineness, and is, besides, vouched for by a St. Louis 
lady, who holds it a precious heirloom from her grand¬ 
father, an officer of the Revolutionary war, in the “ Main 
Guard and Morristown Picket.” 

Game’s New York Mercury , April 24, 1780, also con¬ 
tains the foregoing congratulatory order of Washington, its 
version agreeing in all essential respects with that pro¬ 
duced in the St. Louis Republican , and differing only in 
some minor points of phraseology. 


SOME BIRTHS OF WASHINGTONS IN IRE¬ 
LAND DURING AND SINCE 1864. 


COMPILED FROM OFFICIAL SOURCES. 


Margaret Washington, Waterford, 1864. 

Patrick Washington, New Ross (Wexford), 1865. 
Catherine Washington, Gort (Galway), 1866. 

Jane Alice Washington, Waterford. 

Margaret Washington, Gort. 

John Washington, Gort, 1869. 

Bridget Washington, New Ross, 1869. 

Thomas Washington, Waterford. 

Thomas Joseph Washington, Thurles (Tipperary), 1869. 
James Joseph Washington, Kilkeel (County Down), 1870. 
John Joseph Washington, Waterford. 

Martin Washington, Gort. 

Edmund Denis Washington, Dublin, 1871. 

James Joseph Washington, Boyle, 1871. 

James Washington, Thurles, 1871. 

George Washington, Belfast, 1871. 

Peter Washington, New Ross, 1872. 

Patrick Washington, Enniskillen (Fermanagh), 1873. 
Elizabeth Washington, New Ross, 1875. 

Mary Washington, New Ross, 1875. 

Francis Washington, Strokestown (Roscommon), 1877. 
Catherine Washington, New Ross, 1878. 

Samuel Patrick Washington, Dublin, 1878. 
Elizabeth^Washington, New Ross, 1880. 

Thomas Washington, Strokestown, 1881. 

38 




39 


Margaret Washington, New Ross, 1882. 
Thomas Washington, New Ross, 1883. 
Edmund Washington, Strokestown. 
Thomas Washington, New Ross, 1885. 
Wilhelmina Washington, Belfast. 

Ellen Washington, Strokestown. 

Peter Washington, New Ross. 

Patrick Washington, Strokestown, 1886. 
Dudley Washington, Strokestown. 

Thos. Alexander Washington, Limerick. 
Ann Kate Washington, Strokestown, 1890. 
Elizabeth Washington, New Ross. 


DEATHS OF IRISH WASHINGTONS DURING 
AND SINCE 1864. 


COMPILED FROM OFFICIAL SOURCES. 


Ellen Washington, Cork, 1864. 

Mary Washington, Thomastown, 1864. 
James Washington, Strokestown, 1866. 
Thomas Washington, Gort. 

Mary Washington, Strokestown, 1869. 
Elizabeth Washington, Strokestown, 1869. 
John Washington, Gort, 1869. 

Thomas J. Washington, Thurles, 1870. 
John Washington, Carlow, 1870. 

John Joseph Washington, Waterford, 1870. 
George Washington, Belfast, 1871. 

John Washington, New Ross. 1871. 





40 


Judy Washington, Thurles, 1872. 

Sarah Washington, Kilkeel, 1874. 

Thomas Washington, Kilkenny, 1874. 

James Washington, Kilkeel, 1875. 

Mary Washington, Callan (County Kilkenny), 1875. 
James Washington, Waterford, 1877. 

Thomas Washington, Strokestown, 1878. 

John Washington, Strokestown, 1880. 

Kate Washington, Coroffin (County Clare), 1886. 
Lizzie Washington, Strokestown, 1890. 


SOME OTHER 

MENTION OF IRISH WASHINGTONS. 


EXTRACTS FROM MARRIAGE LICENSE BONDS (PROTESTANT). 


Diocese of Meath, 1842, Sarah Washington and Andrew 
McKey. 

Diocese of Ossory, 1762, Mary Washington and Alex¬ 
ander Ward. 

Diocese of Armagh, 1829, Elizabeth Washington, other¬ 
wise Stewart, and Richard Dowse. 





IRISH WASHINGTONS OR THEIR DESCEND¬ 
ANTS IN PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, 
(LIVING OR DEAD). 


Michael Washington, first of the name. 

Catherine (Ford) Washington, his wife. 

Edward Washington, dead. 

Patrick Washington, 293 Pearl Street. 

Michael Washington. 

Edward Henry Washington, fire department. 

Frank Washington, piano tuner. 

Joseph Washington, provision business. 

George Augustine Washington, music teacher. 

Mary Washington. 

Howard Washington. 

Ellen Washington, dead. 

Kate Washington, dead. 

Joseph Washington. 

Edward Washington. 

Edward Washington (2). 

Christopher Washington. 

William Joseph Washington, dead. 

Bridget Washington, married Thomas Norton. 

Julia Washington, married Roderick Hunt. 

Mary Washington, married Michael Feeney, Pawtucket or 
Central Falls, R. I. 

John Washington (now believed to be in Australia). 


41 



IRISH WASHINGTONS IN PENNSYLVANIA. 


William Washington, McKeesport. 

John Washington, McKeesport. 

Joseph Washington, McKeesport. 

Lizzie Washington, McKeesport. 

Gertie Washington, McKeesport. 

James Washington, McKeesport. 

John Washington (2), McKeesport. 

Edward Washington, McKeesport. 

Frank Washington, McKeesport. 

Raymond Washington, McKeesport. 

Michael Washington, resided in Ohio; dead. 

Patrick Washington, soldier in American Civil War; where¬ 
abouts unknown. 


WASHINGTONS IN ENGLAND, OF PATERNAL 
IRISH DESCENT. 

(The Manchester Branch.) 


George Washington, married Alice Doyxe. 
George Washington, married Mary Raby. 
Alice Washington, married William Baguley. 
Henry Washington, dead. 

Gertrude Washington. 

Ethel Washington. 

Alice Washington. 

George Washington, dead. 

Harry Washington. 

Martha Washington, dead. 

Mary Washington, dead. 


42 






WASHINGTONS OF IRISH DESCENT IN 
AUSTRALIA. 


Henry William Washington, died 1891. 
Herbert Henry Washington, Melbourne. 
Walter Tom Washington, Melbourne. 

George William Washington, Melbourne. 

John Lawrence Washington, Melbourne. 

Amy Isabel Washington, Melbourne. 

Florence Elizabeth Washington, Melbourne. 
John Washington (of the Rhode Island family). 


43 



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